Some of the latest victims of fentanyl poisoning are North Texas kids. Here's what to know about fentanyl, including signs of an overdose and how to stop it.
What to know about the synthetic opioid fentanyl and why it’s dangerous
Fentanyl is the latest wave in the the country’s ongoing opioid crisis. Law enforcement officials say fentanyl has eclipsed other street drugs as the deadliest and most widely available in North Texas.
Law enforcement officials say fentanyl has eclipsed other street drugs as the deadliest and most widely available in North Texas — the latest wave in the country’s ongoing opioid crisis.
Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid initially created for cancer pain management, is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. An amount the size of the tip of a sharpened pencil can be lethal.
Here’s what to know about the drug:
Clandestine additive
Fentanyl is often peddled in fake pills when a buyer thinks they’re getting Percocet or Xanax, for example. Fentanyl is cheap to make and often used as a filler. Officials refrain from calling the pills “counterfeit” because street pill-pushers are not trying to integrate them into the pharmaceutical drug supply.
The Drug Enforcement Administration said six out of 10 fentanyl-laced fake prescription pills contain a possibly lethal dose of the drug, according to 2022 testing. In 2021, the number was four in 10. The Dallas DEA office said it seized more than 1 million fentanyl-laced, fake prescription pills in 2022 — more than 11.4 million potentially deadly doses.
Law enforcement officials say the drug is found more and more in tandem with other drugs. Officials say the bulk of illicit fentanyl in North Texas can be traced to Mexican drug cartels.
Fentanyl Poisonings
The Texas Department of State Health Services reported more than 3,000 fentanyl-related deaths among Texans from 2018 to 2021. Deaths between 2018 and 2019 rose marginally, then almost tripled from 2019 to 2020. Deaths doubled between 2020 and 2021, according to the state health agency’s data.
In recent years, North Texas counties have seen elevated numbers of fentanyl poisonings — a widely adopted and preferred term to describe an unintentional death attributed to the drug because it may be clandestine — according to publicly available medical examiner’s data.
It is also a national trend: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported synthetic opioids deaths outpaced other drug deaths between 2020 and 2021.
“Fentanyl is the single deadliest drug threat our nation has ever encountered,” DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said in August. “It is everywhere.”
Medical use
When prescribed by doctors and taken responsibly, fentanyl can be helpful.
George Church, a MedStar field operations supervisor, said when used properly “fentanyl is a good drug.”
Church said paramedics with MedStar, which operates in Fort Worth and surrounding cities, carry and use fentanyl as a “primary pain management tool.” The drug is well tolerated by patients and produces fewer side effects than its opiate sister morphine, he said.
Church said the drug’s doses are measured in micrograms. A microgram is one millionth of a gram.
Education, harm-reduction efforts
Underscoring the fentanyl crisis is a nationwide battle with addiction and mental health, as well as a laissez-faire attitude toward substance use, advocates and officials say.
Advocates say education, awareness, compassion and harm-reduction measures are key to controlling the crisis.
Naloxone, a medication that can undo an opioid overdose, is becoming readily available over-the-counter and police departments are starting to equip officers and paramedics with it, in addition to paramedics. Gov. Greg Abbott recently reversed course on decriminalizing fentanyl testing strips, coming out in support of the idea.
